Garden Cameos: Spartanburg County groups beautify county with trees

Sunday

Dec 23, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Spartanburg County is fortunate to have people in its community interested in planting trees. As you know, trees are important for air quality as well as adding great beauty.

Spartanburg County is fortunate to have people in its community interested in planting trees. As you know, trees are important for air quality as well as adding great beauty.If you looked back at pictures of areas around the county before these groups started planting trees, you would be amazed at what it looked like compared to now.Trees improve our quality of life in many ways. One of the most important is the way a tree cleans the carbon dioxide in the air and gives off oxygen. A typical tree produces about 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Two trees can supply a person’s oxygen needs, according to the U.S. Forest Service.Trees shade asphalt that absorbs the sun’s heat and creates heat islands. According to NASA, Atlanta’s temperature is now 5 to 7 degrees higher than surrounding countryside, after a decade of bulldozing trees and subsequent building.Trees planted in urban areas in South Carolina have been found to remove 800,000 tons of air pollution from the atmosphere every year. This is one reason it’s important to keep planting trees.Cost savings is also a factor to keep in mind when planting. Trees planted on the south and southwest sides of your house can reduce your air-conditioning bill in the summer up to about 30 percent.The money you would save from the shade of a mature tree can pay for a tree and its upkeep.Spartanburg County is fortunate to have people in our community interested in planting trees to beautify our community. Here are some of the groups that have planted trees:-- The Men’s Garden Club tree-planting effort has planted 5,000 to 6,000 trees along our city and county streets.-- The Converse Heights tree-planting project has planted 900 trees in that neighborhood.

-- The Noble Tree Foundation has supported four highway projects and the Downtown Spartanburg Airport tree planting, which was done this fall with the help of Josh Ford and Mark Baker from the city.-- The town of Pacolet, under the leadership of Mayor Elaine Harris, planted 250 trees along Highway 176.-- Ninety Spots of Pride have been planted around town; many of the spots contain trees.-- The Group of 100 has cleaned up unsightly places and planted trees.-- Trees Spartanburg planted small trees that are now mature and lovely, showing that you don’t have to plant everything in a balled and burlap size to make a pretty show.-- We have five arboretums in Spartanburg — at Hatcher Garden, Wofford College, the University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg Community College and Milliken, according to Kevin Parris, a noted community tree enthusiast.-- The city of Spartanburg has done a great job of replacing and maintaining trees. The Trees Coalition, led by Newt Hardie, is also doing this work.Now, what can you do as an individual to help this effort of beautifying our community? You can encourage other people and groups to plant trees. You can join one of these groups and volunteer to help.You can donate money to one of these groups (and get a tax deduction) to help pay for the trees they plant.As you drive through our city, look around and admire all the trees that have been planted in the past 20 years. They give us much beauty and shade, as well as wildlife habitat and a sense of grandeur.

Spartanburg is a nicer place to live because of these wonderful volunteers. I get excited when I see new trees being planted in a parking lot, along the streets and in the medians.I want to thank each and every one of you who have played some part in making Spartanburg the lovely place it is today. Keep up the good work!

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